While BJP has almost successfully completed its seats sharing exercises with its allies in both Maharashtra and Jharkhand, for which assembly elections are in the process, Congress-led INDIA bloc finding it difficult to reach a consensus.
Fissures surfaced in the INDIA bloc ahead of the Jharkhand Assembly elections on Saturday as the RJD expressed disappointment and said “all options were open” after Chief Minister and JMM leader Hemant Soren announced that his party and the Congress would contest 70 seats, leaving the remaining 11 for alliance partners.
Soren said the INDIA bloc partners would contest the poll together, and the Congress and the JMM would field candidates in 70 of the 81 seats. He said the decision was taken following consultations with allies — RJD and Left parties) and candidates would be announced soon. Hemant Soren however did not mention how many seats would be given to RJD and how many seats would be given to the Left Front contest.
Sharply reacting to Soren’s statement, RJD spokesperson Manoj Kumar Jha said, “We express our disappointment over the offer of seats to us. The decision is unilateral. We were not consulted. All options are open to us.” Tejashwi Yadav, RJD leader and former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister, also said he had taken note of the sentiments of the party’s leaders and workers in Jharkhand.
In 2019, the RJD, JMM and the Congress had fought the Assembly elections together. The RJD contested seven seats, but failed to win any. The JMM won 30 of the 43 seats in its kitty, while the Congress emerged victorious in 16 of the 31 constituencies allocated to it.
The RJD, it is learnt, has identified 15 to 18 seats in Jharkhand where it believes it has the potential to defeat the BJP on its own. Top Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was also on a visit to Ranchi on Saturday, where he addressed a meeting relating to “honouring the Constitution”. However, Rahul wasn’t present at the press conference addressed by Soren.
Soren’s announcement regarding seat-sharing came a day after the NDA revealed its formula for Jharkhand. The BJP will contest 68 seats, AJSU Party 10, JD(U) two and the LJP (Ram Vilas) one.